Traveling Abroad with Your Family: 13 Quick Tips To Save You Time and Money!

Guest Post By: Jenna Greenspoon and Lisa Korbin, Owners of Savvy Sassy Moms

Family vacations are such a special time and being able to take our families around the world is something we are so grateful for. We both began traveling with our kids when they were young, as young as 6 weeks old.

While traveling with young kids is amazing, preparing for the trip brings on lots of anxiety! What to bring and how much, where to begin?! Over the years, we have compiled a list to assist us in acclimatizing our children to time differences, climate changes, and combating boredom.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVEL ITALIAN STYLE | WOMEN'S AMALFI COAST TOUR 2015

1. Get plenty of rest before your trip. Often times a family excursion is exhausting, you may be on the go for most of your travel and you can’t count on sleeping on the plane with children in tow!

2. Preparation and organization are key to successful travel with children. Select travel bags that have multiple pockets, keep games and activities in the front compartments for easy access. Ensure all of your children’s favourite items are in those front pockets! And don’t forget to leave room for the additional clothes you are wearing that may need to be thrown into the bags.

3. Load up on dollar store items such as; no-mess crafts and activities, water painting, scratch away crafts, sticker books with loads of stickers and notebooks.

"Buying small inexpensive activities at the dollar store will provide entertainment without breaking the bank, since you’ve attributed all extra funds to the trip itself!"

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVEL ITALIAN STYLE

4. Where are you traveling to? Consider what can be purchased there or ordered ahead of time to arrive at your destination such as diapers, wipes and other children’s items that you may need. This will save space!

"Ask your children to help you pack. This way they know where everything is and hopefully good packing skills will be instilled when they have to pack for themselves later on! "

5. Ask your children to help you pack. This way they know where everything is and hopefully good packing skills will be instilled when they have to pack for themselves later on! For the little ones, have them select 2 or 3 toys that they want to bring along so that they when they arrive, they know what has come from home.

6. Pack outfits in order to eliminate unnecessary clothing. Try not to throw anything in at the last minute, it will probably never be worn.

7. For young kids, pack their clothes in outfits as well and put them in big ziploc bags to save space in your suitcase!

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAVVY SASSY MEDIA

8. Pack snacks that are easy to travel with and containers that are reusable and easy to clean. You will be grateful to have snack containers with you on your trip!

9. Dress in layers for travel. It may be hot in the morning but the second you board the plane or are in the car for prolonged periods of time, you may be cold. If you are traveling to a warm climate, you will immediately want to enjoy the warm weather and shed a few layers upon arrival.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVEL ITALIAN STYLE

10. Bring travel wet-wipes to keep your hands clean. Your children will be touching everything and so is everyone else. Travel tissues are also a good thing to have on hand!

11. Do not wear anything white on the plane, in the car or at anytime with children on your trip!

12. Make sure that anything important, such as medications, are packed in your carry-on bag. You will never know when you will need it.

13. If you are traveling with young children, make sure to make any arrangements for items needed such as a crib or car seat, ahead of time. Call the place you are staying and be specific about what you need!

"Most importantly, remember the Italian mentality: Take a deep breath, enjoy your time with your family and have fun!"

Meet the Authors |
Featured Guest Bloggers: Lisa & Jenna 

With a strong foundation in childhood education and a driving passion for their work and families, Lisa and Jenna are both prepared and looking forward to the next phase of their lives as working moms. Using their experience as mothers and educators, they will do their best to share their knowledge, the love of learning, and a wealth of valuable personal experiences – the good, the bad, and the ugly – in dedication to the pursuit of happy, healthy families everywhere and creating a worldwide (and web) community of savvy, sassy moms.

Be sure to check out more on Lisa and Jenna at SavvySassyMoms.com, an online style magazine for moms. 

Inspiring Travel Stories: Erica Virvo

Interview and Written by Halie Taylor

Read one women's story about passion for travel and the change it is bringing to the world!

Over the years, we are seeing more and more of the  travel industry giving back. Those who use this privilege of traveling to inspire, motivate and help others with this same dream. We are lucky enough here at TIS to be surrounded by many just like this--Erica Virvo is one of those amazing, generous and bright spirited people.

Photo courtsey of erica virvo

Erica had gone into college  to study interior design in Virginia, her thoughts were to lead an average life in an average town.

It wasn't until one day that she woke up realizing she was set to do something special in this world, something bigger and she wanted to do this through travel.

Her immediate thought was to  join the Peace Corps. However, with a desire to complete her degree, she chose an alternative option. Instead she packed her bags and moved to Qatar, a location where she can continue her university credits and also learn about the world.

 "Traveling to Qatar changed my life and was one of the main things that set things in motion for me as a volunteer and a traveler."

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

From here Erica was more inspired than ever. Soon after her move to Qatar, Erica took a spring break trip to Cambodia with a volunteer group.

Falling in love with Cambodia, Erica then tried to take up residency in the country and teach English. However, with this desire not working out she was left with the question that many of us face when plans don’t work out, “what’s next?”

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. 

-Walt Disney

Instead of giving up when she didn't find a job in Cambodia, Erica lived her dream by venturing to rural Thailand to live with host family and volunteer teaching English to high schoolers. Then eventually she found herself in South Korea teaching English as a job. After traveling half way around the world at this point, she came to a realization.

She was not just traveling, she was learning and growing with others. Erica was loving every minute of this experience and knew she needed to take this gift of hers to the next level!

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

The adventure that followed South Korea was what changed her path. The money saved by teaching in South Korea was put towards a program with an international learning center located in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

In this program, Erica spent 6 months in the Caribbean learning and living the culture of the town. Experiences ranged form working on a farm, cleaning up beaches, teaching in local schools and most importantly how to live in an area without running water or electricity.

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

These 6 months were all preparation for the time Erica spent in Zambia, where she traveled to next. In Zambia, life started to make sense. Everything she learned was bursting through with passion, love and light.

She was finally able to use all the skills developed over the years of travel to be a change of world to these people. And by people we mean, those of all ages, from 4 to 94 years. Erica was now one with the community!

"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away"
-Picasso

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

Although her time ended in Zambia, she knew what had to come next--find an organization to continue to help her new family. An organization that would give them hope and light, even if she was back home--this is when she found  Charity: Water.

charity: water is a non-profit organization that provides clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Founded by Scott Harrison in 2006,this organization has helped fund 19,819 projects in 24 countries, benefiting over 6.1 million people.

Photo courtesy of Erica

An amazing factor of this organization is that not only is it helping those in need, it is also changing how the charities work. Their ability to bring about fast, lasting, measurable results, recruit reliable and honorable volunteers, as well show authentic love for the cause, is what makes Erica so proud to support and encourages others to donate to this foundation!  Best part: 100% of every donation goes directly to the field (they have consistent private donors that cover the organization's overhead), they primarily rely on local experts and partnerships, and they prove every project (you get an email with the GPS coordinates of the well you contributed to so you can see it on Google maps - or go visit it yourself!)

This tribe is what brings Erica to life!

"We are told so much about how life is, but if you don’t see thing for yourself you don’t truly know."
-Erica Virvo

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

Erica continues to purse her passion of travel within her career as she currently holds the  position of Director of Global Operations with Nomadic Matt. The wonderful part of her job is that she also gets to give back by working on Nomadic Matt's non-profit Foundation for Learning and Youth Travel Education, which sends American high school classes on educational trips overseas to bring their learning to life.  You may be familiar with them because we at TIS partner with FLYTE by donating 2% of our profits to the foundation!

Erica is one of those amazing women that will continue to inspire others to believe that if you can dream it, you can do it and when you do it--give back to those in need!

Point to take away: Live with passion and see how life only gets better each journey at a time...

If you would like to be a apart of Erica's journey we encourage you to donate to charity: water on her behalf!

For her upcoming birthday she is raising money for to bring clean water to rural areas of the world.  She was inspired to do this after she learned that her wonderful host family just lost a very special member of their family. Shaddy was just 4 years old. To contact Erica or to get more information on donating simply click on this link for more information.

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Halie is the Travel Marketing Trends Coordinator for Travel Italian Style and is currently a senior at College of Charleston in Charleston, SC where she is majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. Living in Charleston, Halie developed a love for beautiful scenery and unique culture. This love led her to her passion for travel which allows her to discover beautiful scenery and unique cultures in places all over the world. When she is not daydreaming about her next traveling adventure she can be found redoing warn out furniture found on the side of the road, writing fiction and attempting Pinterest crafts.

Realize Your Dream Career

My advice on taking the first step towards finding a job you love to wake up to everyday!

As someone who is constantly striving to get to the next level in my life and business, my dream has always been to assist and encourage others to do the same!

On May 17th I had the honor of speaking to aspiring business professionals of the National Organization of Italian American Women at Cipriani on Wall Street in New York.

Following the talk, I had quite a bit of emails and messages asking for specific examples as to what steps I took in order to get where I am today. 

Since I believe that when you learn and succeed then you should teach and when you rise, well your duty is to lift others with you--I created this blog post.

Here you will find anything from business programs, internships, motivational quotes and even straight up advice. Now, just to be clear this is my personal opinion and steps that worked for me. Everyone has there own path.

I am simply sharing this information in hopes that a spark ignites in you!  Also, I understand there is a lot of information included here. Therefore, please comment below with any questions you may have.

As the Italian's say, In bucco al lupo (good luck). You got this!

This is me living my dream. Hosting my group on a tour of the amalfi coast (procida in this case to be exact)

Find a Mentor

We’ve all heard stories about the hardships of being a business owner. Stories about entrepreneurs subsisting on ramen noodles and peanut butter while they build their businesses. Or entrepreneurs who sadly go back to day jobs. Because despite their best efforts, they couldn’t get enough clients to help them pay the bills. Maybe you’re thinking it’ll take you years before your business will take off.  Here’s what I want you to know.Yes, starting a business takes a ton of work. You won’t make six figures overnight.

But at the same time – it doesn’t have to take forever. When you have the right mentorship and support, you can grow rapidly and become one of the next big success stories.

One person who can help you with this is my mentor Selena Soo -- a business + publicity strategist who created an amazing business in just two years! 

I took this course and I have to say the support from the group and the personal attention from Selena gave me the right encouragement I needed to take my biz to the next level. Selena is extremely generous and is currently holding some great webinars and even giving away  free information on how to follow her successful path. I hope this resonates with you, it did for me! :)

Sign up here for some great free info today!

Photo from S2 website

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Join a National Organization or Local Meet-Up. Find your Tribe! 

The National Organization of Italian American Women was a group that has given me a sense of belonging in New York that I never thought possible. The women in the group share my passion for Italy as well as my Italian heritage. It's amazing to be surrounded by others that not only get your path but also your family! As a member, I have been able to network in the industry and learn from other amazing women. 

Learn more here. 

Note: Not an Italian-American? No problem, I suggest doing a quick Google search on the Meet-Up or organization in your interest. Be sure to also think outside of your career field, consider your passion first! I am constantly networking outside of travel--this helps expand my business model and gain some insightful advice from other successful CEO's. 

Check out this link to find out easily how to discover the perfect meetup

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Take a course in your speciality!

Being in the travel business I have been asked on many occasions for tips on how to travel the world for a living, specifically writing or blogging. 

I would love to give great advice, but being I am not actually a travel writer (I am a travel consultant and tour operator) this can be a bit difficult. However, I do have some friends in the industry that are very successful in this field!

In this case I would recommend travel icon, Matt Kepnes (known to you as Nomadic Matt). Here is your chance to learn from someone who has been named one of the top 100 travel bloggers in the world and his team of successful writing influencers.

The course goes over things like different writing forms, how to make a story flow, different ways to create a story and real life examples.

If this sounds of interest than join others that are passionate about travel writing, blogging and photographer here!

Note: If you are not in travel this should still give you a good idea of what is out there in the world. There are influencers in EVERY field ready to teach you the tricks of the trade. Bonus: Those interested in starting a travel consulting business keep on the look out for more insider tips from me later in the year! 

Photo courtesy of Nomadicmatt.com

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Travel with an Entrepreneur Focused Group

As a young professional it's important to gain experiences outside of the workforce as well as collaborate with other young professionals to grow your skills. Start Up Island allows young professionals to do just that. 

This great company holds multiple trips a year in which aspiring entrepreneurs are given the opportunity to travel, get to know their peers and be coached by phenomenal business leaders.

Check out how you can join a future trip here.

Picture courtesy of  Startup Island 

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Internships

Internships are the best way to gain experience, explore different area within your job field and work close to executives in a company! I was fortunate to have four wonderful internships in the beginning of my career. It is because of those experiences I am where I am today (really).

See  great opportunities in NY, Italy and even virtually below:

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International Internships with Global Experiences (WorldWide)

My internship in Florence (Back in 2006) was set up by a company called Global Experiences. This program afforded me the opportunity to fall in love with Italy. This experience helped shape my goals and just 2 years after this career move, I gained dual-citizenship and then moved back to Florence.

Through GE's expert team, they can place you in just about any field that you dream throughout the world!

Learn more about it here.

Global Experiences has partnered with Gallup Education to provide each of our interns access to the Clifton StregnthsFinder assessment and Strengths-based career training.

Video via  Global Experiences.com

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Internship with Creative People in Florence (Florence, Italy)

Creative People in Florence offers internships for those interested in the arts. By interning with CPIF young professionals will learn what it's like to be a part of an international community of creative professionals while also establishing skills in such areas as blogging, social media management, writing and publicizing.

This group of individuals are some the kindest, coolest and hard-working creative people I know in all of Italy. If you are into the art then I would not miss this opportunity!

Find out more details and apply here.

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Internship in Jewelry Design (Florence, Italy)

This internship is great for someone interested in learning more about social media campaigns and eCommerce especially as it relates to the fashion & design industry or someone interested in learning more about starting a business.

Intern will have the opportunity to work directly with the designer as well as network with other creative professionals in the Florence area. (Sara will be a great mentor)!

Schedule an interview here.

photo courtesy of creative people in florence 

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Internship with FLYTE * Foundation For Learning and Youth Travel Education (Virtual)

FLYTE is a nonprofit agency providing funding, teacher support, and itinerary and trip planning for high school students in underserved communities to travel and expand their cultural, academic, and social horizons.

Organization Mission: FLYTE works with students in underserved communities to promote the benefits of travel, education, and cultural awareness through the creation, funding, and management of overseas trips. 

Interns will have the opportunity to help maintain social media campaigns, learn about the funding process as well as learn what it takes to run a non-profit.

Find out more and schedule an interview with one of the co-founders here.

Photo courtesy of FLYTE | Erica Virvo 

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Inspiring Minds, Great Networking Events, Podcasts, etc.

photo Courtsey of oggi america 

It is so important to keep learning from others. My co-panelists from the NOIAW event are not only amazing  but also offer fabulous opportunities (in addition to their own personal businesses) to grow in your career! My advice is to try and connect with these wonderful women! 

Mickela Mallozi is known for being the star and creator of her  Emmy® Award-winning show the Bare Feet® Series. But did you know she also is the Director of the NY Women's Travel Fest. This annual conference has a mission is to inspire, empower, and connect women through travel.  For more information, go to WomensTravelFest.com – upcoming festival takes place 2017 in NYC. I personally look forward to this event every year and highly recommend attending.

Joan Pelzer is a social media guru, CEO of Joan Pelzer Media and also runs a business empowerment podcast: 21 Century Entrepreneur. Check out her website for some inspiration!

 Amy Peloso is a Certified Life Coach and Chief Visionary and Client Advisor at The Queen Bee NYC. She’s on a mission to connect people with their purpose and give them the clarity, confidence and courage to fulfill it. She acts as a sounding board, supporter and steady guide for those looking to manage change and transformation in their careers and lives. She is also a dear friend of mine and basically coaches me through life ;)!

Nikki Padilla is an inspiring, young freelancer across a variety of mediums. She is constantly finding new ways to progress in her travel career (and to support her own travel ambitions). She is also a friendly and generous person who I know would love to give some great advice to help motivate others! 

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Travel italian style women group tour 2015 | tuscany 

Create a Power Routine

Lastly, if you are still not feeling motivated to work towards your dream then it is time to look at your routine. Are you feeding your mind, body and soul with goodness? Are you surrounded by draining people or maybe even isolating yourself?

To quote Tony Robbins, " The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." If something is not working then take steps to alter your path.

This brings me back to the idea that  your mind, health and physical well being are the core foundation behind this idea!

I decided to share my daily morning ritual. Again, this works for me but see what works for you.

What can you do to inspire yourself as soon as you wake up? What one positive habit can you add into your day?

• I rise and shine somewhere between 6:15am-7:00am
• Set my intention for the day in my 5-Minute Journal
• Get dressed and work out (running, gym, yoga, Pilates, beachbody, anything to get moving)
• Return to drink some sort of green, carrot or any healthy juice
• Enjoy lots of espresso  (ok that is not healthy but I like it )
• I then turn on my motivational speeches from the great Jim Carrey, Les Brown, Eric Thomas, or even Jimmy Valvano. 

I know my mindset for the day is going to determine the outcome so that is why I try my best to keep this positive daily routine. Remember change your thoughts, change your world!

What are your career dreams? Take a second, picture yourself doing just this and then go pursue it! Half the battle is just showing up!

 Don't be afraid to take the first step and remember there are so many other's out there just like myself that are here to support you on this journey!

 

"I advise you to say your dream is possible and then overcome all inconveniences, ignore all the hassles and take a running leap through the hoop, even if it is in flames"

-Les Brown

 

If you'd like to talk more about the post above feel free to contact us at info@travelitalianstyle.com.

Disclosure: Please note that one or two of the links provided above are affiliate links. Because I BELIEVE in these programs I recommend them, I personally feel that they can be a real game changer. This basically means that Travel Italian Style receives a commission on any purchases you make through the links.  In the online world, we are a team and our mission is to change the lives of others together! You will not only be helping yourself by making these purchases but also Travel Italian Style and our partners. Grazie Mille!